Face-to-face , first term, 30 hours of theory.

First term
Thursday from 15:15 to 17:15 at 43 Botanique 7

English

This course takes up a number of big and often controversial issues in world economic history during the last millenium. The focus will be on the ways in which economic historians have approached these issues on the economics they have used to understand them and on the evidence and the statistical and other techniques that they have used to support their interpretations. Students should take away from the course broad knowledge of world economic history, reinforced skills in economic and quantitative reasoning, and greater ability to read scientific work critically.

For the Bachelor in Business Engineering :

For the Bachelor in Economics and Management :

None

Some of the questions to be discussed include:
Was the pre-industrial world Malthusian?
What was the long-term impact of the Black Death?
How was capital mobilized in the pre-industrial world?
Why did the Industrial Revolution take place in Britain?
Why was there a "great divergence" in incomes between the West and the rest after 1800?
What was the nature of global financial integration before the First World War?
Was American economic growth exceptional?
What caused the Great Depression?

The method of instruction will be through the reading of scientific articles and discussion of them in class. Students will be expected to read and prepare to present at least one article per week.

Assessment will be based on article presentations and general participation in class discussions and on a short paper analyzing critically an article in economic history chosen in collaboration with the instructors.

The course will be based on articles from journals and books, but a useful information to the subject is Robert C. Allen, Global Economic History: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011, 192 pp)